A multi-router network may be characterized as a network having a plurality of routers connected together and arranged in a logical hierarchy. With the launch of new services, such as but not limited to home security, IP video, Smart Grid, etc., and more consumer devices, such as but not limited to televisions, mobile phones, appliances, etc., being configured with routers, multi-router networks are becoming more prevalent. Multi-router networks require multiple routers to communicate with each other over network links, the establishment of messaging protocols, hierarchical relationships, address assignments, prefix delegations, security measures, backup capabilities and a potential number of additional functional capabilities in order to properly and securely govern network communications. As the prevalence of such multi-router networks continues to grow, one non-limiting aspect of the present invention contemplates a need to facilitate configuring routers to operate in such a complex environment.
Without intending to limit the scope of the present invention, and while not dispositive of environments where a need may exist to facilitate configuring routers, one non-limiting aspect of the present invention foresees a particular need in facilitating configuration of routers employed in small office and home office (SoHo) environments. SoHo and similar environments may employ routers having off-the-shelf, default, pre-configured and/or consumer-level configurations where the corresponding routers may be commonly referred to as home Internet Protocol (IP) network (HIPnet) routers. Such pre-configurations may thwart inter-router communications and other operations associated with facilitating use and/or construction of a multiple-router network. Default firewall and/or network address translator (NAT) setting of such HIPnet routers may particularly disrupt inter-router communications, particularly communications from one subnet to another. Accordingly, one non-limiting aspect of the present invention contemplates facilitating configuration of HIPnet or other types of pre-configured routers for use in multi-router networks.